Click here for Vol 4 – “That Yellow Bastard”

“Call me squeamish, I need a piece of killing done, and I don’t feel like doing it myself.” – Dwight

“FAMILY VALUES”

Frank Miller’s “Sin City: Family Values” was the first Basin City story to be released as a graphic novel, whereas the previous volumes were collections of individual issues. While this is not my favorite volume, it’s still worth checking out if you’re a fan.

“Family Values” brings back Dwight McCarthy, and deadly little Miho as they take on warring mob factions. It’s a quick, short read, with some brutal kills, and plenty of Miller-isms. The highlight in this one is that Miho really gets an opportunity to shine as she single-handedly dismembers the entire mafia – with a little help from Dwight. This one also feels very experimental at times, for better or worse.

We also get another appearance from the eloquent henchmen, Douglas Klump, and Burt Schlubb (aka ‘Fat Man and Little Boy’), but beyond that, there’s not a lot of other story connections in this one.

Gail sends Dwight and Miho on a mission to uncover information about a mob hit at a diner in Old Town. Dwight gets information on a hitman named Bruno (we don’t talk about Bruno) from his drunk girlfriend, Peggy. “He stopped shooting people and started kissing babies.” We get this interesting sequence here where Peggy gives us an info dump on Bruno and his mob connections, and as she’s monologuing, Miller gives us some epic imagery to go along with the exposition.

The mobsters that Dwight and Miho are up against are pretty unforgivable, one of them even gleefully kills a dog with a machine gun, so when they do finally get their comeuppance, it’s pretty satisfying. Overall, it’s a decent, by the numbers, noir romp.

This is one of the Sin City stories that has yet to be translated to screen, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see if a third movie ever comes to light…

Next Time: Vol 6 – “Booze, Broads, and Bullets”

If you’re a fan of neo-noir, check out my latest book “2299”!